~ A New Year to care for ~

I'm happy to say that all the hoopla about the predictions from this calendar
proved to be wrong....

Mayan Calendar

So now we can settle in and think about the new year that
stretches out before us.
What will await us in this year of

I came across this darling little excerpt about calendars a couple of years ago and it truly spoke to me.
I have always replaced my calendar with a little wistfulness each year.
This author captured my feelings on the subject and I thought I would
share it with you.

By Marjorie Holmes

From her book Love and Laughter. 

This is the season of calendars. They make their bright bustling invasion even before the old year is laid to rest. Calendars, you think, taking down the old one in the kitchen, to replace it with the new. 

Yet with a tinge of regret, you hold it a minute longer. You know it isn't the illustration that makes you reluctant to part with it. It is the scribbled notations;

Surprise party at the Englebachs'......

Dentist, Johnny 4:00....

Graduation....

Mark's wedding

Some of the spaces are crammed with appointments and with reminders. Others bear witness to a child's eagerness: "My birthday," and a picture of the pet he's been dreaming of. 

It is tattered and smudged, this packet of papers you hold in your hand. It is fingerprinted and jelly-smeared. Yet it is a rich document of living, for fixed there in pen and pencil strokes are all the things that mattered, the occasions so eagerly anticipated; the parties, the plays, the dances. The hopes, the disappointments, the tragedies. Finished now, over.

And gazing on the new one, so bright, so clean, so unmarked, you ponder; what record will be written there before another year has passed? What shining events to be looked forward to? What trivial tasks dutifully cited, what joys or sorrows?

For the calendar that hangs in the kitchen is so much more than a sheaf of dates...

it is your family's history. 

May your calendar reflect days filled 
with only joyful events
 surrounded by family and friends.

~ Twas the night before Christmas ~

Twas the night before Christmas

and all through the house
not a creature was stirring


except for a yellow dog 
with Reindeer antlers on her head.

The goodies have all been baked

with that touch of citrus that always smells like Christmas to me.

The Chandelier draped with greenery

The table was set in it's Red and White finery
in hopes that Grand children soon would be here

The big Guy himself was the main theme this year

with a Santa at every place setting

With touches of Silver here and there

mismatched vintage silver trays serve as chargers

The silver is picked up by the vintage Art-Deco wine glasses
 handed down to me
by Mr/ Wonderful's Mother.

With a nod of approval from an angel watching over the dining room festivities

The only thing left to do now, is wait for Saint Nicholas
to make his appearance.

So from The Dressed Up Cottage:

Merry Christmas to all
And to all a Good Night

~ My Obsession ~

You never know how and when a new collection will start.
You don't set out to start a collection.
You're not even thinking about it, when suddenly while out strolling
through the booths at your favorite flea market
you see her..........
there she is
 tucked amidst an orphaned tea cup and an old Scooby Doo jelly glass
she is lost and forgotten
but she looks beautiful to you
your heart skips a beat
you must have her.
And that, my friends, is how a new collection is born

 The latest object of my affection;

has become my latest OBSESSION
Do you recognize her?

She is the stuff little girl's dreams are made of.

So many wonderful memories came rushing back when I saw her. 
And there you have it.....
the beginning of a new obsession, collection.

This called for a new little tree put in place on my bedroom dresser

Instead of a traditional tree topper, I believe this calls for......

A PINK SHOE, what else?????

and the quest was on to fill it with all the vintage Barbies of my youth. 

Real Vintage Barbies are out of reach for my pocket book and I really wouldn't 
have any place to display them....not quite MY decor. 
But these miniature gems from Hallmark are just right. 

I'm only interested in the Vintage Barbies 1959 through early Sixties.
with all the pretty outfits I remember. 

Tracking down these tiny treasures on E-Bay has been a lot of fun.
Each time a new one arrives in the mail
I'm as excited as a little girl.

Mr. Wonderful just smiles and shakes his head, as I oooh and aaaah over it 
and say..." I remember having this outfit"
It is so sad that the Barbie's today don't have a fraction of the true fashion sense Original Barbie had.
She was always so .....GLAMOROUS 

When I'm purchasing Barbie and her clothes for my little Granddaughter, 
it's shocking how unacceptable most of her looks are now. It's hard to find pretty clothes.

Needless to say little Granddaughter is captivated by this Barbie beauty;
which will all  be hers one day. 
What little girl doesn't love Barbie? Or big girl, for that matter. Ha ha 
Hopefully she'll have fond memories of this sweet tree.
And in the mean time....I'm having enough fun for both of us. 

Now if I could only find .....KEN!!!!!

~It's a Dressed Up Cottage Christmas ~

Little bits of Christmas all through the house.

There's a  tree full of memories

Both old and new

Things to make the Grandchildren smile

And even Lizzie has several ornaments for the tree.

The most precious one of all, carried home from school in proud little hands.
This loving gift to Mommy always sits at the top of our tree.

After years of doing a monochromatic color scheme for Christmas of whites and creams and golds,
I went completely outside MY box this year and went with a Santa theme
Blame it on the Grand kids,
But this year, there's lots of red and white and I pulled out all of my Santa ornaments and put them in front
And speaking of Santa.......

Welcome to Santa Lane

Have you been naughty or nice??

Even this wacky Santa managed to find a spot, perched on top of a light pole

An homage to my Swedish roots. This is one of my favorite Santa's .

And my little Swedish girl always stands next to him.
Isn't she adorable?

Another little Santa scene on a glass cake pedestal

A simple vignette on the coffee table

I hope you've all been good little girls and boys
Because you know who has been watching........

NO..not Lizzie





THIS, you know you.